Alex SwensonRecruiting Advisor| This is a digital version of Alex

5 Overlooked Division II schools in the South

11 Sept 2026 · 3 min

Watch on YouTube

2:34

In this promotional YouTube monologue, former Division I coach and recruiter Alex Swenson highlights five Southern Division II colleges—Catawba College, Anderson University, Florida Southern, Rollins College, and Nova Southeastern—that he argues are overlooked despite strong athletic success, solid academics, and generous financial resources. He presents key statistics for each school (enrollment, endowment, national championships, coaching records, student‑faculty ratios) and emphasizes that well‑chosen DII programs can outperform mismatched D1 offers because partial athletic scholarships can be combined with academic aid, allowing athletes to both play and receive a quality education. Swenson positions these schools as part of his "Overlooked 500" list, which is featured in his "Recruit Ready Challenge," a 30‑day plan for families to organize and market their athletes. He ends with a call‑to‑action for viewers to comment "recruit" to join the waitlist.

Chapters

Here are 5 Division II schools in the South that are overlooked and win national championships, plus have great academics and students who love their experience. That's all you can ask for. And almost no family has them on their list. And if you're new here, I'm Coach Alex, a former D1 coach, scout, and recruiter. I've helped over 1,000 athletes and their families get to college. And here's the truth: D2 done right beats D1 done wrong. Number 5, Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina. 1,100 students and a $580 million endowment. Pretty wild. That's elite university money at a D2 college, and it shows up as scholarships. 22 varsity sports, the most on the list, and a baseball coach with over 1,000 wins. All right, number 4, Anderson University in South Carolina. The Wall Street Journal ranked it top 25 in the entire country for student engagement. 18 sports, football was just added, and students say the whole campus revolves around athletics. Number 3, Florida Southern in Lakeland, Florida. 30 national championships, reigning women's lacrosse national champs. They're definitely on the rise. Number 2, Rollins in Winter Park, Florida. The number 1 private regional university in the South, top 2 for 25 straight years, 12-to-1 student-faculty ratio, elite academics, real D2 competition, the scholar-athlete's dream. And number 1, Nova Southeastern in Fort Lauderdale, 15 national championships. Their men's basketball team is 135-5 over the last 4 years with 2 national titles. A major research university, and they are adding lacrosse right now, which means rosters are being built. Here is what families don't understand about D2. Partial athletic scholarships stack with academic aid. At schools like these, the total package can beat D1 offers. And your athlete actually plays. These are 5 of the 500 inside the Overlooked 500. which every family gets in the Recruit Ready Challenge, a 30-day plan that gets your athlete organized, visible, and coach ready. Doors open very soon. Comment recruit and I'll put you on the waitlist. See you soon.